


The Fear She May Never Say My Name Again

by NashidaKyouko



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Asami-centric, F/F, I don't know what else to tag, Korrasami - Freeform, One Shot, POV Third Person, cross-posted on dA and tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-29 19:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3908326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NashidaKyouko/pseuds/NashidaKyouko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami doesn't want to think about the possibility of Korra being dead following the fight with Kuvira.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Fear She May Never Say My Name Again

**Author's Note:**

> Asami-centric, takes place during finale. Technically, the Korrasami is light, since Korra isn't in most of the fic, but still.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own LoK or the characters.

 The purple light that enveloped the city was disconcerting, to say the least. However, it wouldn't have had Asami so unnerved if she didn't know that Korra had been in the center of the explosive impact which caused said light. Asami had never seen something so overwhelmingly powerful. Frankly, even the previous explosions paled in comparison. And Korra was in there when it happened. Korra was there. Korra couldn't have escaped that blast. Korra might be... No. No, Asami couldn't bear to let her mind go there. Not after watching her father get crushed to death only hours ago.

The clouds of dust seemed to be getting sucked back towards the point of impact. After a moment of hesitation, Asami dashed out of the alley in which she'd taken cover. She feared the damage that she may find, but she couldn't stand to stay cloistered away. A tiny sigh of relief escaped her lips as she saw that the damage from the explosion itself was surprisingly minimal. A few more buildings had been sliced up during the circling blast that had occurred just before everything had gone purple, yet the city still stood. Partially. It was a wreck anyway, given the mecha suit attack from earlier, but at least that last attack didn't utterly destroy what remained.

Why was that, though? That purple light was made of the same spirit energy that the cannons had had, wasn't it? And it had filled the streets with such tremendous speed. Glancing around, Asami noticed that the walls around her were blistered with scorch marks. So there was some additional damage, then. It just wasn't as serious as it probably should have been.

But why? How had Korra prevented that shot from obliterating what was left Republic City? It had to be because of Korra that anything was left standing; that much Asami was certain of.

Milliseconds passed as Asami quickly thought through possible causes. Before she could reach a reasonable conclusion, however, her eyes widened as a brilliant beam of golden light sprung up from the direction of the blast. The light spun around itself, as if it were dancing. A green tint added to its marvel, and the designer in her couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate the unique beauty of the spiraling light. After her initial shock, she was seized by the realization that she'd seen this form before, though it had been years since then.

Yet, surely, this was the form of the Spirit Portals in the Water Tribes. The colors were different, but the shape and iridescence were the same. Asami hadn't had much personal interaction with those portals, but she would never forget their splendor. The sight of the Southern Spirit Portal back when Korra had opened it was forever etched into her mind. Until that time, Asami hadn't thought much on Spirits or spirituality. It wasn't that she had actively avoided the concepts, just that they hadn't had much personal bearing on her life, as far as she could tell. Clearly, she knew better by now.

This light was most definitely a new Spirit Portal. What else could it be? At the same time, though, was it even possible to create a new portal? How did this kind of thing work?

Finally, the humble awe wound down enough that Asami's mind kicked back into high gear. Or, rather, reverted to focusing on the intense anxiety of not knowing where anyone was—who was still alive. Was Korra still alive? Korra had to be alive. There was no way Korra wasn't alive.

Her mind raced, desperately seeking a solution to the situation at hand which ended with as many survivors as possible. Most importantly, the solution required Korra's survival. This equation wasn't working out how Asami hoped. She grimaced, taking a few slow steps towards the new beam of light that she was convinced was a Spirit Portal.

Asami had no idea that it had been less than a minute since the explosion had occurred. It felt as though several hours had passed. The only sound meeting her ears was the steady thudding of her feet, forcing her forward. Each step she took sunk and rose, sunk and rose, sunk deeper... Her world was almost swallowed by this battle, and she was terrified of learning how much she would never get back.

Reaching the vast ditch of spirit vines surrounding the new portal, Asami saw her friends and comrades gathering together. Her eyes darted about feverishly for dark skin. But there was none to be found. As she reached the others, she overheard Tenzin confirm that the spiraling light was indeed a Spirit Portal, and she felt a twinge of pride over whatever Korra had done to make this seemingly impossible occurrence a reality. Anxious eyes never ceased their search for a sign of the woman she loved, however, and the moment of pride passed as a sick, oppressive air encroached, gaining pressure with each passing second that Korra made no appearance.

Everyone began to call out for Korra, peeking around corners and lifting debris in their search. Everyone except for Asami. Yes, Asami was looking, too. But she found her throat felt so dry she couldn't quite say Korra's name. She didn't lift things up like the others, either, but just walked as if in a trance around the Spirit Portal.

Jinora glided to higher ground, but Korra wasn't there, either. Asami wandered aimlessly, trying to ignore how Mako's shoulders slumped when Jinora indicated she hadn't found Korra. Tenzin was half-crumpled over, and the whole group was starting to believe that Korra was lost to them. Asami couldn't even go there. She couldn't dare to entertain the thought that Korra was gone.

At a subconscious level, however, she feared the worst. As it seemed increasingly likely that Korra would not be found—as it became harder to ignore the probability that her body had been decimated in the explosion—Asami's conscious mind became more and more blank. Soon, little more than a dull static filled her thoughts. It was the only way to fend off the fear that she may never hear Korra say her name again. Allowing her mind to die was the only defense she had left. Her body became heavy with the thoughts she wouldn't acknowledge, and her already sluggish movements nearly came to a halt.

Without warning, a stream of Spirits flooded out from the new Spirit Portal, making the terrain look more like an ocean than the middle of a major city. Spirits appeared all around the area, most of them staring in awe at the new portal, just as a number of spectating humans did. Asami's comrades looked about with wonder, distracted from their task. She was surprised to find how little she felt at the spectacle before her. It was beautiful, and yet she couldn't appreciate it the way she normally would. She continued to do her best to block out the thought that Korra was dead, and this took all of her energy. She stared almost blankly at the others, face ashen with hopelessness.

“The Spirits have returned...” Tenzin said, his voice reverent.

At that moment—even as Tenzin spoke—something changed. The asphyxiating pressure began to lift.

She was here. She was alive. Asami could feel the knowledge coursing through her veins like blood, like life itself being restored to her tense body. With her revived senses, she snapped her neck back to stare at the portal again. Her breathing stopped in anticipation. A soft warmth filled her heart as she found her voice again, gleefully calling out: “And so has Korra!”

It was all she could do to keep herself from pouncing onto the woman emerging from the Spirit Portal. Seeing an injured Kuvira hanging onto Korra, though, Asami knew she needed to keep herself in check for the time being. She managed to hold back, just barely. Korra smiled at Asami, making her feel even more overjoyed as she beamed up at the descending woman.

Soldiers demanded Kuvira's release. Their arrogance set off a wave of irritation in Asami, making her want to yell at them for disrupting the quiet joy of the moment. Before she had the chance, however, Kuvira turned herself in, much to everyone's surprise.

Without realizing she'd moved, Asami now found herself behind Korra. And as Kuvira was taken away, she couldn't resist touching Korra's shoulder any longer. She had a deep need to _feel_ Korra alive, to confirm with her own hands that she wasn't dead, that she wasn't leaving, that Asami wasn't going to lose someone else she loved today. Electricity sparked through her body the moment her hand made contact, and Asami breathed a sigh of gratitude. Korra was really alive.

Korra turned towards her, meeting Asami's eyes, which were overflowing with pride and love. The smile on Korra's face tempted Asami to taste those upturned lips. A glint in Korra's eyes seemed to indicate she wanted the same thing, but Bolin abruptly broke the spell that had held the two women, clasping onto Korra and laughing with glee over her survival. Still, Asami didn't remove her hand, even as the others joined around Korra. Some of their friends came in for a warm embrace.

The group began to move out of the ditch which surrounded the Spirit Portal. When Korra took a step forward, Asami felt a flash of fear rip through her at the irrational thought that if Korra stepped beyond her touch, she may wake up and find that this moment had been nothing more than a sweet dream. To avoid this, Asami rushed up to Korra's side. When Korra surprised her by leaning into her touch, Asami let her arm stretch across Korra's back in a firm hug. Korra was so warm under her arm. To Asami's delight, Korra snuggled even closer into her. Happy blue eyes found her face again, and the look in them caused Asami to blush ever so slightly. Asami half-rested her head and half-hid her face on Korra's shoulder, and once more was pleasantly surprised as Korra rested her own head on top of hers.

This was a moment of pure bliss for both of them, and though their friends gathered in for another hug, neither woman noticed anything but each other as the rest of the world fell away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. This idea is by no means unique, but I enjoyed writing it anyway. I am aware that a number of similar fics exist, but I simply wanted to write my own version.  
> Please leave kudos if you liked it =3  
> Thanks to my fans and friends who encouraged me when I was struggling last night, too.


End file.
